The increasing popularity of American sports and other special interests, and the considerable media attention directed to individual sports figures, have helped facilitate a strong interest in collector cards which depict individual sports figures in action. This increasing interest in collector cards has, in turn, caused many previously issued collector cards, of which only a limited number are available, to become more and more valuable. As the value of collector cards increases, those cards which are in "mint condition", i.e., which are well preserved, undamaged, unfolded and unscratched, tend to increase in value much faster than cards which have been damaged, scratched or bent. Accordingly, it has become increasingly important to devise storage containers which, to the extent possible, preserve the collector cards in their original condition. Also, it is highly desirable for a storage container to be attractive and impressive to users, viewers, buyers and sellers of the collector cards, without significantly adding to the cost of the cards.
Presently, many collector cards are packaged and sold in rectangular cardboard boxes which are capable of storing anywhere from about 25 to about 900 cards, depending on the size of the box. One such cardboard box is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,957,213, issued to White et al. The box disclosed therein is a single-piece, base and lid assembly with a rectangular storage base and a fold-over lid with flaps to secure the lid in the closed position. The box also includes a stopping device for maintaining the cards in an orderly fashion when the box is only partially full.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,554,429, issued to Cohen, discloses a paperboard or plastic container which utilizes one or more notched inserts to permit compartmentizing of the container. A plurality of partitions are inserted into the notches and are thereby maintained in a spaced relationship to create the individual compartments.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,696,395, issued to Rivoli, discloses a rectangular container in which a plurality of workpieces are stored in an upright position using a pair of upright members having V-shaped notches which face inward from the sides of the container. The upright members are mounted to a base plate which includes an adjustable slide mechanism for allowing one of the upright members to be moved closer to or further away from the other upright member, as needed, depending on th size of the workpieces being stored.
U.S. Pat. Re. No. 30,624, issued to Soulakis et al., discloses a storage container for index cards having a hollow base and a lid pivotally mounted on the base, with a carrier pivotally mounted on the lid. The carrier, which supports the index cards being stored, is completely inside the base when the lid is closed. When the lid is open, the carrier moves to a partially elevated position to facilitate easier insertion, removal and viewing of the cards.